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    MajorBurnAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 2:05pm

    I think I need more of an explanation than 31 yr old man dies of massive heart attack on bus to believe that this is just a regular death.

    Did Bassem have a heart condition from birth and never, ever visit a doctor? Does he have a history of insanely early heart-related deaths in his family? He doesn’t visibly have any of the co-morbid conditions that would make this pretty remarkable death seem more acceptable.

    It’s also really weird that both Darren Seals and DeAndre Joshua were both shot in their cars, the cars then lit on fire. Edward Crawford was also found shot, but in the back seat of his own car in what Police deemed a suicide.

    Edward Crawford was this guy; the Captain America looking fellow who picked up a tear gas canister shot into a crowd of protesters, and fired it back at Police who had deemed all of them a threat.  

    Illustration for article titled

    In the case of Dayne Jones (Melissa McKinnies, who was active in the St. Louis suburb after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014); sure suicide does effect young Black men. But I can’t really see him hanging himself with a bedsheet from a tree on his mother’s property.

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      TamTamsMajorBurn
      11/29/18 3:12pm

      The article states that he was a recovering addict and abusing drugs/alcohol can screw with your cardiovascular system. I did a PSA about opioid abuse specifically and talked with a lot of recovery centers and they told me that it’s unfortunately not uncommon to hear that one of the people who had been coming to meetings had died of a heart attack. 

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      No!Wire!Hangers!MajorBurn
      11/29/18 3:14pm

      The article does mention that he had battled addiction which I’m assuming means hard drugs and those fuck up your heart. I lost a friend that way, he’d been sober for 10 years but the years of drug abuse damaged his heart irreparably.

      But yeah, given the number of deaths among Ferguson activists, someone should investigate.

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    thatsjustmyhair-kinjadAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 2:00pm

    My brain still can’t process his passing. He was younger than I am and had so many years left of giving still in him.

    Even if it were a “natural” death this article sprang immediately to mind:

    Why Living in a Poor Neighborhood Can Change Your Biology

    http://nautil.us/issue/61/coordinates/why-living-in-a-poor-neighborhood-can-change-your-biology-rp

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      MajorBurnthatsjustmyhair-kinjad
      11/29/18 2:31pm

      I’m not quite sure this is the case given his specific ethnicity and viable family business. I do think it’s a very valid factor to consider.

      I absolutely do agree with; and have seen some of the findings of the study, I personally think it’s more of an immediate and horrific health impact when you have people stuck in the same “Poor Neighborhood” for a couple generations and they’ve gotten the additional added factors as having generationally poor education, and a location-based stigma that prevents even the most dedicated and self-improving over-achievers from “getting out”.

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      thatsjustmyhair-kinjadMajorBurn
      11/29/18 2:49pm

      I didn’t say that’s what killed him, but that the article came to mind as a factor to consider. I do think the death of 4 vocal and visible Ferguson activists is suspicious as hell.

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    HuskyBroAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 1:31pm

    I'm scared to post on this one.

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      FlamingFeministaHuskyBro
      11/29/18 3:11pm

      I can believe just about any conspiracy theory about the deaths of the most visible and vocal activists in and around Ferguson. I can also believe in simplistic and sophisticated methods of murder. Because it’s been more than 50 years since Medgar Evars, Malcolm X, MLK, Bobby Seales, and all the less famous people who were lynched, disappeared and imprisoned. Those who prefer the status quo (or regression) have grown as sophisticated as those who strive for more and different. Nothing would surprise me but my heart hurts because evil seems unstoppable. 

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      JeffersonDarcysHairHuskyBro
      11/29/18 3:45pm

      Why?

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    HuskyBroAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 1:33pm

    St. Louis is the most segregated place I've ever been to and I've lived in Mississippi, Arizona and Milwaukee.

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      Fuzzy86HuskyBro
      11/29/18 2:43pm

      It is. I grew up not far from where Mike Brown was killed (Bellefontaine Neighbors for those who wish to know), my mother still lives there. I vividly remember my mother telling me that the county had decided long ago that the north would go to the black population.

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    satalacAnne Branigin
    12/01/18 10:17am

    It’s not unheard of for someone that young to have a heart attack. Especially one with thinning hair at such a young age (early male patterned baldness is a great indication of poor heart health than obesity). That being said, there is just way too much coincidence for all of these deaths from BLM activists. This needs to be further investigated, and by an outside party. 

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    Yo, Hold UpAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 4:37pm

    There’s so much documented evidence of the impact that stress and trauma can have on your well-being, that even if the state or racist assholes didn’t kill him directly, they still share blame for creating the kind of environment that would lead to his heart giving out at such a young age.

    For our black and brown brothers and sisters - we need to take care of ourselves so we can take care of each other. There’s nothing wrong with stepping back for a bit to heal before diving back into the trenches. I know that’s easier said than done in many cases, but self-care is vital. We are all we’ve got.

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      DoctorNineYo, Hold Up
      11/29/18 8:32pm

      This.

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    GreenBabyWeightAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 3:29pm

    While more investigation certainly is warranted, it’s not like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is completely unheard of in young adults. Throw in his previous battles with drug addiction, and it’s quite possible that natural causes is completely accurate.

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    TheanarchistsneedlogisticalsupportAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 5:50pm

    You should talk to doctors. You should have talked to doctors.

    Young men and women die. Young men and women who have abused alcohol/drugs die, even after giving up those substances. People have genetic predispositions to hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease, etc, etc. People get cancer at every age.

    Simply put, the fact that some people associated tangentially with a recent high-profile issue died is unremarkable. It’s highly unlikely they had common medical challenges. 

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    jayarAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 4:49pm

    There are many cardiovascular genetic conditions that predispose one to an early death. the cardiac condition Vascular Ehlers Danlos is one that is most misunderstood and underdiagnosed: very rare, it causes weakness in arteries and veins; and kills the majority of people who have it before the age of 40. Most with VEDS are not diagnosed until after death. Aneurysms are also genetic. A family genetic history should be taken whenever someone dies before the age of 40 of cardiac or vascular issues. Other members of his family would be at equal risk if this is the case.   Know the signs.  https://www.annabelleschallenge.org/vascular-eds/

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    fuknwaggleAnne Branigin
    11/29/18 1:30pm

    So a man dies of a heart attack and with absolutely zero evidence to the contrary The Root has established the cause of death is White Supremacy?  Pushing your agenda with bullshit conspiracy theories does a disservice to those actually suffering from the effects of systemic racism.

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